We have traveled to Puerto Vallarta twice as a family in the last 5 years.
It’s one of our favorite places and will stay on our list to visit again! Nothing beats the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. Puerto Vallarta has beaches and mountains and a lovely downtown to walk around, shop, and eat.
Our first trip – Barcelo Puerto Vallarta
On our first trip in 2018, we stayed at the Barcelo Puerto Vallarta. It’s a family-friendly resort with 316 rooms, ranging from deluxe suites to Presidential suites oceanfront. We booked the 2 bedroom Family suite with Premium amenities, it also had 2 bathrooms. It was perfect for us. The hotel is about 45 minutes from the airport. It’s situated next to the site where the movie, “The Night of the Iguana” was filmed in 1964. There is a trail leading to the site, Ally and I hiked it one morning.
We enjoyed the food and drinks here, the service was really good. They have large pools, with activities going on. There’s a swim-up bar and a jacuzzi in the middle of the pool. It’s not a large property, it’s easy to get around. We went to several of the nightly shows.
The 2 bedroom suite was 2 rooms inside one main door, which is great for families. The hallway had a door to the master bedroom.
Our second trip – Secrets Vallarta Bay
Our second stay in 2021 was our first trip since 2019. To say we were excited, was an understatement! Since Ally was now an adult, we could stay at adult-only hotels. We chose Secrets Vallarta Bay. It’s closer to town and we wanted to go to the Malecon again. At the time this Secrets hotel was connected to Now Vallarta Bay, but it’s been renovated and rebranded into a Dreams property.
The two lobbies are connected, but one side of the hotel is adults-only and the other is family-friendly. Some of the amenities and restaurants are shared.
There wasn’t much not to like about this hotel. The food and service were good. The entertainment wasn’t the best, it’s a little quiet and the shows are with the family section. For adults looking for a little more evening entertainment, you can go into town.
The view from the lobby is breathtaking!
You can see in the picture there’s a wall with greenery on it. That’s the dividing line. The adult pools are separate from the kids. You won’t see kids unless you go to the beach or during dinner. There are some adult-only restaurants on the Secrets side though.
We had ocean-view rooms, they do guarantee king beds at this hotel. There’s a jacuzzi tub in the room and double sinks on the vanity.
On both vacations here, we ate at Serrano’s Meat House on the Malecon. So good! It’s still there, you should check it out.
Puerto Vallarta is on the Pacific side of Mexico. There are mountains and beaches, it’s just beautiful. The whale-watching season runs from about November to March, if that interests you definitely add it to the list.
If you are interested in traveling to Puerto Vallarta, or any other options, I’d love to earn your business. You can reach me at Lake Pointe Travel at sarah@lakepointetravel.net or 469-698-4071. This is my personal lifestyle blog but I’m a travel agent by day.
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